Monday, July 30, 2012

Learn How To Train Your Dog

Dogs are naturally curious, which at times can lead to big time disasters! Luckily, it just takes some elementary dog training to help your dog understand what sort of behavior is expected.

Your dog needs to be up to date on his training. This will help to make them more obedient. Do not believe that just because you dog has graduated from obedience school that training is complete. Dogs, though, are like people in the way they fall into habits. That is why it is vital to ensure your dog maintains a strict rule system.

Fear is the number one cause of a dog biting. When a dog feel threatened, scared or trapped, it may bite. Force should never be used when training your dog. This could have the unfortunate effect of causing your dog to bite you. Your dog will feel proud and want to please you as his leader.

Always train your dog in a motivated, positive environment. If your dog performs a task you ask him to, reward him. Negative training techniques and punishment will only serve to garner fear, and a dog who is afraid is not one who is willing to please.

If your dog suddenly starts misbehaving out of the blue, it is best to bring him to the vet so any health problems can be ruled out. Certain health conditions or some pains can make your dog act out. This happens because they are unable to voice their pain to their owner and this may help the owner to identify that something is wrong.

If you catch your puppy chewing on something he isn't suppose to be chewing, stop him immediately. Since this action teaches him what he can and cannot chew on, it will help prevent him from chewing on your things when you are distracted or just not around.

A clicker is a good way to reinforce positive behavior. The clicker works when you make an association between positive events and the clicker being used. Making the sound and giving a treat is a good way to build this association. In short order, the animal will have a pleasant association with the clicking sound, and the clicker will be very helpful in conveying what is considered to be proper conduct.

Whenever a behavioral problem shows up suddenly, your first stop should be the veterinarian, to rule out any health-related causes. Pain in an animal can cause erratic behavior. Because they cannot speak to let us know there is a problem, this is how they alert us to the fact that they require extra attention.

Try to challenge your pet on a regular basis. Test the dog occasionally to check his memory, even though both of you know that he remembers his commands.

Anxiety in dogs often leads to destructive behavior like chewing or clawing. Dogs feel secure when enclosed in a safe place such as a dog crate. You can offer him a safe chew toy so he does not become bored while you are away.

Keep your dog distracted so that they can pass temptations that trigger their bad behavior. For example, if your dog doesn't like other dogs, try to keep him entertained and busy as you pass by other dogs on walks. This could re-jigger his associations and make him associate other dogs with positive reinforcement.

While some dogs train well together, it depends entirely on each pup's personality; training two dogs simultaneously may prove impossible. If your dogs do not focus on you properly when you train them together, you may want to separate them and give them some individual attention before trying to work with them jointly.

Try training a dog to clench a plush toy in his mouth. Every time he successfully holds onto the toy with his mouth, hit the clicker and proceed by giving him a treat. After this is done a few times, watch and wait for your dog to put the toy inside his mouth. After has has done this, you should click and promptly give a reward. After this, you should only reward your dog after he holds the toy in his mouth.

As you have seen, training your dog is an investment you will enjoy for many years. A dog that doesn't behave can damage your property, irritate everyone in the home and soon the family won't want the dog around. By applying the information found in this article, you'll be making a wise choice and helping your dog to be an enjoyable member of your family.

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